What would a Zegras deal look like?

[inkman]

4 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

2025 top 10 protected 1st, Wahlberg, Greenway, Krebs for Zegras and a 3rd. 

 

1 hour ago, Flashsabre said:

Verbeek loves size and snarl. Wahlberg will have to be included.And he is probably the prospect the Sabres shouldn’t move as he provides what they don’t have.

 

55 minutes ago, Weave said:

I would not like losing Wahlberg…… let me rephrase, I would not like to lose the unblemished, no warts promise of Wahlberg, but lets be real here, he’s bottom 6 ceiling.  I’m moving him for an established top 6 player every time.

The Sabres need to stop hemorrhaging the loss of players who play big.  I’m sure @LGR4GM will point out how large the Sabres are, which is correct but Wahlberg is a guy who uses his size and uses it effectively.  Every one of these guys has been purged from the Sabres pipeline for the last decade or so.  They need more Wahlbergs, not less.  

[mjd1001]

The other thing about Zegras...what does/would Anaheim want?

Hearing what Verbeek says...looking at their roster composition, hearing some of the 'chatter' from their social media....it seems there is one single thing they want more than anything else.  A veteran (prime age, not over the hill, 25-29 years old) top 2 or legit top 4 D-man, preferably right shot. That appears to be their #1 want and need.

And as others have said, if you need to trade Quinn, Peterka, or Benson as part of the package to get him, are you guaranteeing you are making yourself better? Maybe not.  I just think Anaheim will want a TOP player in return, especially a veteran D-man, I don't see Buffalo as a good trade match.  No way I see the Ducks taking a 'protected' first rounder and some non-top tier prospects for him.

Edited July 24 by mjd1001

[inkman]

36 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

The other thing about Zegras...what does/would Anaheim want?

Hearing what Verbeek says...looking at their roster composition, hearing some of the 'chatter' from their social media....it seems there is one single thing they want more than anything else.  A veteran (prime age, not over the hill, 25-29 years old) top 2 or legit top 4 D-man, preferably right shot. That appears to be their #1 want and need.

And as others have said, if you need to trade Quinn, Peterka, or Benson as part of the package to get him, are you guaranteeing you are making yourself better? Maybe not.  I just think Anaheim will want a TOP player in return, especially a veteran D-man, I don't see Buffalo as a good trade match.  No way I see the Ducks taking a 'protected' first rounder and some non-top tier prospects for him.

Like I said Byram, Kulich & picks 

[PotentPowerPlay21]

Zegras would be a backward step for the Sabres. Necas would be a positive move. Go forward.

[PerreaultForever]

You guys are saying we need Zegras because he's the type of player we need. Why? Because we traded Mittlestadt right? So wouldn't that move signal proof that this organization is entirely clueless?

In broad terms Zegras is Mitts abilities with Skinner's personality. But you want him? Think it over. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

45 minutes ago, PotentPowerPlay21 said:

Zegras would be a backward step for the Sabres. Necas would be a positive move. Go forward.

Necas, 25, 362 gp - .268 g/gp, .671 p/gp

Zegras, 23, 211 gp - .261 g/gp, .73 p/gp

Zegras has 2 60 pt seasons, while Necas only has one.  Zegras has 2 years left on his current deal at 5.75 while Necas is an RFA and looking for a long-term deal over $7 mill per season.

How is Zegras a step back and Necas a step forward?  
 

 

Edited July 24 by GASabresIUFAN

[Flashsabre]

1 hour ago, PotentPowerPlay21 said:

Zegras would be a backward step for the Sabres. Necas would be a positive move. Go forward.

I don’t understand this at all

[Pimlach]

15 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Let’s say for arguments sake that Ana is actually interested in trading their top pick from a couple of years ago after a difficult injury affected season.

Buffalo’s need for a player like Zegras is obvious.  The Sabres need a top 6 forward and need a playmaker of his skill to replace the lost playmaking from trading Mitts.

The biggest hurdle to a deal is Ana is only 1.28 million above the cap floor.  Moving Zegras (and I assume his full salary of $5.75 million) without taking a contract or two back, would put Ana about $4.5 million under the cap.  Ana is also a surprisingly old team.  They have 5 forwards 30+, their top goalie is 31 and their top 3 D are also 32+.

The Sabres also have 13 forwards under contract once Krebs is signed.  

If Ana trades Zegras, they are going to want at least one or two roster players, preferably someone who can become part of their core.  My guess is Benson is at the top of their list.  I also think they are going to want 4 pieces in total.   If we use the Eichel deal as a reference, the Sabres gave up Eichel and a 2023 3rd for Tuch (a good, but injured vet with term), Krebs (a young highly touted near ready prospect), a 2022 1st and a 2023 2nd.

Honestly, I’m having a problem making the pieces work.  Greenway is likely to be one of pieces heading the other way.  Krebs? Rosen? Kulich? Our first in 2025?  

Thoughts?

Zegras is not Eichel.   Not even the injured Eichel.  
 

I offer them Krebs, a protected 1, and a lower tier prospect.  Nothing more, and certainly not Benson.  

[LGR4GM]

3 hours ago, inkman said:

 

 

The Sabres need to stop hemorrhaging the loss of players who play big.  I’m sure @LGR4GM will point out how large the Sabres are, which is correct but Wahlberg is a guy who uses his size and uses it effectively.  Every one of these guys has been purged from the Sabres pipeline for the last decade or so.  They need more Wahlbergs, not less.  

Sabres added 3 players who play big like it was nothing this offseason. I'm not saying we should trade Wahlberg, just that he's what it would cost. 

[Drag0nDan]

1 hour ago, PerreaultForever said:

You guys are saying we need Zegras because he's the type of player we need. Why? Because we traded Mittlestadt right? So wouldn't that move signal proof that this organization is entirely clueless?

In broad terms Zegras is Mitts abilities with Skinner's personality. But you want him? Think it over. 

Mitts never found the net enough for me to want to put him as a top 6 center (0 20-goal seasons in his career).  Good player between the blue lines, i thought he was a proper back checker as a center, quick decisions in traffic.  He was also one of the only guys who would skate the puck out of the zone with a level of consistency.  But he wasn't particularly fleet of foot, and you don't usually get faster than you are at 25.  Decent shooting percentage but 102 shots in 62 games is just... too low for a center in a top 6. 

Didn't hate the player, but to pay him 6M or whatever is tough when his points are going to be somewhat line dependent.  I don't think McLeod is an upgrade, but I think he's what they're looking for in a 3rd line center - win draws, play in any situation if needed, take pucks away, etc. 

[LGR4GM]

Jack Quinn is better than Zegras. There, I said it.

[mjd1001]

37 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Jack Quinn is better than Zegras. There, I said it.

Not directed at you at all....but what you said about Quinn being better made me think of something from when he was drafted...

I remember a lot of angst, hand wringing, and even a bit of anger when they drafted Quinn.  The 'mock drafts' (most of them) didn't have him taken as high as the Sabres took him (most had him in the 11-15 range), so based on that there were a lot of people on this forum very upset with the pick.  "how can you take Quinn when Perfetti and Rossi were still available"  

Now Quinn hasn't proven a lot yet as he has missed a lot of games due to injury....but not it seems most on this board are VERY happy with him now.

[JohnC]

20 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

Not directed at you at all....but what you said about Quinn being better made me think of something from when he was drafted...

I remember a lot of angst, hand wringing, and even a bit of anger when they drafted Quinn.  The 'mock drafts' (most of them) didn't have him taken as high as the Sabres took him (most had him in the 11-15 range), so based on that there were a lot of people on this forum very upset with the pick.  "how can you take Quinn when Perfetti and Rossi were still available"  

Now Quinn hasn't proven a lot yet as he has missed a lot of games due to injury....but not it seems most on this board are VERY happy with him now.

Quinn has been subjected to a couple of unfortunate injuries that have kept him off the ice for extended periods of time. However, if you watched him in his small sample size of games it is evident that he has the potential to be a good first or second line forward. If I had the choice of keeping either JJP or Quinn, I would without hesitation take Quinn. 

Not only am I happy that we have him, but I'm also excited to see what he will do this season. I'm confident that he and Power are going to take a quantum leap forward in their games this season. 

[inkman]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

Sabres added 3 players who play big like it was nothing this offseason. I'm not saying we should trade Wahlberg, just that he's what it would cost. 

I think we’ll all be sorely disappointed if Wahlberg turns into Lafferty, NAK or Melanstyn.  Those guys are a dime a dozen but because the Sabres haven’t bothered to value anyone like that since the 90s, the Sabres had an aircraft carrier hole in their org with large physical forwards.  

[inkman]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

Jack Quinn is better than Zegras. There, I said it.

I’m not gonna deny it but if Quinn turns into Craig Janney (great player that averaged about 50 games per season)  and they move Peterka for Zegras, I think we’ll all look back at this with egg on our faces. 

[LGR4GM]

2 minutes ago, inkman said:

I’m not gonna deny it but if Quinn turns into Craig Janney (great player that averaged about 50 games per season)  and they move Peterka for Zegras, I think we’ll all look back at this with egg on our faces. 

They won't move Peterka for Zegras so we'll never have to worry about it. 

[oddoublee]

One year protected lottery first round pick (unprotected year two), starting D (joki, but probably samuelson to offset salary and keep ana at floor) and a top 5 prospect (Rosen, Östlund or Wahlberg). 

Maybe the sabres get a 3rd back. 

That's the deal. 

[inkman]

2 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Zegras is not Eichel.   Not even the injured Eichel.  
 

I offer them Krebs, a protected 1, and a lower tier prospect.  Nothing more, and certainly not Benson.  

That’s a pile of garbage.  

[Taro T]

6 minutes ago, inkman said:

That’s a pile of garbage.  

Pretty sure that was his point.

[GASabresIUFAN]

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Jack Quinn is better than Zegras. There, I said it.

But how much better would Quinn be (& Cozens for that matter) if he had a gifted playmaker feeding him pucks for his very accurate shot?

 

Edited July 24 by GASabresIUFAN

[Flashsabre]

I wonder if now that UPL is done and they know the cap that now they focus on one more deal for a top 6 winger.

[LGR4GM]

5 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

But how much better would Quinn be (& Cozens for that matter) if he had a gifted playmaker feeding him pucks for his very accurate shot?

 

I want the puck on Quinns stick. He's better than Zegras and you're severely underrating his playmaking. Quinn doesn't need to be fed pucks. 

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, Drag0nDan said:

Mitts never found the net enough for me to want to put him as a top 6 center (0 20-goal seasons in his career).  Good player between the blue lines, i thought he was a proper back checker as a center, quick decisions in traffic.  He was also one of the only guys who would skate the puck out of the zone with a level of consistency.  But he wasn't particularly fleet of foot, and you don't usually get faster than you are at 25.  Decent shooting percentage but 102 shots in 62 games is just... too low for a center in a top 6. 

Didn't hate the player, but to pay him 6M or whatever is tough when his points are going to be somewhat line dependent.  I don't think McLeod is an upgrade, but I think he's what they're looking for in a 3rd line center - win draws, play in any situation if needed, take pucks away, etc. 

My only point was people are saying we need a playmaking top 6 forward and they want Zegras when we just traded away our top scorer who was a playmaker. It makes no sense even if you argue Zegras is better than Mitts because you still have to give up assets to get him. 

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, Flashsabre said:

I wonder if now that UPL is done and they know the cap that now they focus on one more deal for a top 6 winger.

I don't think the GM will. (My opinion.) Unless a contract or two is subtracted, I don't see a Zegress level contract added to a Pegula owned team. At least right now.  

[GASabresIUFAN]

4 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Jack Quinn is better than Zegras. There, I said it.

I like Quinn, but he is not an elite playmaker.  Maybe he can develop into one, but his stats don't justify that label, not his total assists or his primary assists.  Yes, he Jr scouting reports say he has good passing skills, but the stats say his primary usage in the pros is that of a goal scorer.   What I will say is that his develop curve is looking more and more like Tuch.  In LV, Tuch was primarily used as a depth goal scorer.  However, once he joined the Sabres, Granato elevated his role and gave him more opportunity to be a playmaker.  Over the last 2 years, Tuch's assists and primary assists are second on the Sabres behind Mitts.

Quinn may also eventually be better than Zegras, but he isn't right now.  Zegras is only 6 months older, but has played 211 games in the NHL (107 more than Quinn).  He has 155 pts in those games (.735 pt/gp) vs Quinn's 58 in 104 games (.555 pt/gp).